Yo..

First of all, Wow so many readers came forward to provide their opinion...it was almost 10% of the entire fan base of this story, it's a fucking huge achievement for me that so many people love my work and really care about this story. I still remember the day when I was a wannabe writer 15 months back and had just asked some tips for writing a story from Narutoenthusiast...it's been a long and memorable journey for me. So, thank you everyone.

Now the mandate is that majority supports in continuation of this story, they believe several prospects are still left to be completed and I have yet to deliver on some of the things that I promised in the summary.

What is my answer? You'll find out soon enough...

Until then, enjoy this special chapter...

Chapter 52

The Demon in the Shadows

(Few Days Later)

Naruto casually walked through his room after a hot shower, as he walked towards his bed he noticed his entire gear being properly placed on its warm sheets. It was still hard for him to believe that he was nearing towards the end.

He had worked all this time for the creation of the empire and now it was finally going to become a reality.

The young Namikaze idly wondered how things could have turned out differently if he had saved his friend at Shuri Castle, would he still be willing to create the empire? Would he still be willing to go this far?

There was no doubt in his mind that if Armin had survived then all of this would have turned out differently. Armin was his hero, his best friend...

His Brother...

He carefully put on his dark black t-shirt followed by his light blue pants. Naruto gently placed his sword on his back and quickly hid the weapon by wearing his Akatsuki cloak over his entire body.

Picking up the black colored face mask from his bed brought a lot of memories back into his mind. He still remembered the day when Shisui had handed him this gift which went on to become an invaluable part of him. This simple mask was the only shield that prevented people from seeing his pain, his guilt.

And he intended to take it with him in his final battle.

While picking up the rest of his weapons, he also noticed his family photograph lying idly on his bed. Naruto quickly picked it up and placed it inside his pocket, he couldn't afford to lose focus now. He had to be absolutely sure...there was no going back now.

After all this was for Armin's dream, and he would gladly die for it.

His eyes shifted towards his chess board, various pieces had been arranged in front of each other...everything looked in place, but the unique thing was that both the kings were standing in front of each other.

One move would determine the fate of the game...as well as the fate of their world.

Many pieces had been sacrificed till now, too many people had died in order to give this opportunity. But before that he still needed to do a few things...

A curt knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts, as he recognized the person's chakra.

"Come in"

Right after the command, Kushina walked in his room. She was dressed in her full combat gear, and was looking at him expectantly.

"Naruto, as you predicted Akatsuki is making its move. Pein has gone somewhere along with Zetsu..." said Kushina worriedly,

"What about the others members? And Madara?" asked Naruto curiously, this was certainly according to his plan.

"All of them are in the base, but I think Orochimaru is not in the base...his chakra is very small in comparison to his original capacity. I can feel it..." stated Kushina confidently,

"A shadow clone...I see. Kushina, did you gather all the evidence which I asked for?" asked Naruto peacefully, and she was a little intrigued by the amount of calmness in his behavior.

"Yes, here are all the photographs of all the members of the Akatsuki. I was also able to take a video of our meeting a few days back...it can definitely prove that the Akatsuki are after the Jinchuuriki and want to build some super weapon. Only Madara is not in these evidence...he has evaded all the traps which I had set to capture evidence, he's just too smart" said Kushina bitterly, as Naruto gave a small nod.

"It's not a surprise, he has been successful in evading capture for all these years. Don't worry, I've already taken steps to prove your innocence...I was not able to keep my promise to Armin and Kotetsu, but I will keep my promise which I made to you" promised Naruto faithfully,

Kushina felt a little sad for him, it was impossible for her to understand the pain which he lived with everyday. She never had a friend like Armin, she loved Minato and had strong friendship with Mikoto. However her only goal in life was to have a happy family life...she was used first by Konoha, and then by Madara.

Until Naruto came, he guided her and have her a purpose. He gave her a dream, the faith which she had lost in humanity and herself was brought back to due to him. Maybe it was the same between Naruto and Armin, for him Armin must have been a true hero...maybe Armin was the person Naruto loved the most in the world, perhaps even more than Mikoto herself.

That was the only logical reason she had, because Naruto had done all of this for Armin's dream of living in a free, better world that was devoid of wars. At one point in his life, Naruto even went against Mikoto and followed his own wish.

But for Armin, he had sacrificed everything and was fighting against the entire world all by himself, bearing all the hatred that was thrown at him...just for his friend?

He had shown her his life, but there were still some deep memories that he had hidden from everyone. Memories that formed his beliefs, and was the secret behind every action that he had taken till this day.

She could understand his dream, but Kushina was not able to understand Naruto as a person...

Kushina curiously watched as he arranged some pieces on his chess board, this was also another one of his annoying traits. Just what was he always doing with the chess board? And what was the damn book that he always hid inside his closet.

She had a feeling that these two things were his secret...and she really wanted to know it.

"Kushina, I have to complete some tasks. Can you please follow our regular routine?" asked Naruto politely, as a frown came on her face.

"Like practicing with your blood clone? Naruto, I'm tired of your secretive nature..." said Kushina honestly, as he gave her a sad smile.

"Gomen (Sorry), please do it for this time. It's really necessary..." requested Naruto,

And before she could even give her answer, he quickly disappeared inside his pocket dimension.

"KUSO!" yelled Kushina in frustration, why couldn't she ever tell him a fucking "NO"

However her gaze shifted towards his chess board and the book inside his drawer, if he was not giving to give her answers then these two things would surely provide her the answers as to...

What Naruto really was?

(Unknown Location)

Naruto peacefully sat on the edge of a tall mountain cliff, the sky was light red and he could hazily see the sun setting in the far end of the vast deep blue sea. And this scene warmed his heart...maybe it wasn't so bad.

His life...

"Boss, it's done"

He turned around and saw 3 of his blood clones, standing behind him. The 3 blood clones which he assigned to help his Blacklight comrades...and if they were here then it only meant that everything had went according to his plan.

And he was another step closer to that moment...

"Were there any casualties?" asked Naruto in a concerned voice,

"No, I have to say Mikasa is quite a good captain. She and her team didn't even let me intervene...they captured the targets, wiped the enemy forces, and destroyed any evidence that could connect them with this action" said one of the blood clones honestly, as Naruto smiled.

"She's a good leader, and with Rangiku's support she'll get through this..." said Naruto calmly,

"Boss, both the girls are hell bent on saving you...they literally choked me to death in order to tell them where you were. But as I didn't know and am just a clone, they had to reluctantly let me go..." said the blood clone seriously,

A tired sigh escaped from Naruto's lips, just listening to this was making him more troubled.

"You've got to understand, I don't want them to save me...every part of me wants to die, or find a way to bring Armin back. But I can't do that...so the only thing I can do is build a better world for them and fulfill Armin's dream, even if it means my soul has to burn in hell for all eternity" explained Naruto painfully,

His clones were really saddened on hearing those words, so the plan was still the same as always...

"Endings are hard, any person can start something...but to see it through the end is a trait only few people have in themselves. You can try to cover up all loose ends but you never can, people are always gonna judge you...there's always gonna be holes. And since it's the ending it's always supposed to add up to something...but I'm telling you they're a raging pain in the ass" said Naruto jokingly,

As the sun finally set in the ocean, Naruto closed his eyes. He finally had something in which he believed truly...

"You really loved him, didn't you boss?" asked one of his clones sadly,

"More than anyone could ever imagine..."

"Boss, Rangiku was able to secure all this information on Killer Bee as per your orders. She also told me to tell you...that she doesn't care what you've done, she just wants you to come home" said the blood clone calmly,

"Thanks, I will be coming home...I'm gonna come home" said Naruto sadly, and the final clone stepped forward.

"Genma was able to secure this information about Danzo Shimura. Apparently, the man has been involved in a lot of dirty work..." said the clone seriously,

Naruto carefully examined the evidence placed before him, it was enough to defeat Bee and prove his comrades innocence. It was still not enough to convict Baku, but it would at least send his father on the right track.

"Does Mikasa have the back up of all this information?" asked Naruto curiously,

"Hai"

"Boss, the Heavenly Alliance have gathered the rest of their forces and are going to make a final stand at Osaka. Both the Tsuchikage and Raikage, and every one of their damn best soldiers are going to be there...Hokage-sama is going to fight them along with 1st and 4th divisions of Konoha. He has the Sannin, your mother and brother on his side, even Hiruzen and Kagami are going to be with him" explained the clones briefly,

"I see, so Itachi's finally joining the war. Guess it can't be helped...father will need all the help he can get. You 3 will go to Osaka and use your last remaining chakra to restrain Bee providing my father enough time to either kill him or seal his power. My father had subdued Kushina many times in the past, it won't be much trouble for him to restrain Bee...just make sure you are not seen, protect them from the shadows till the very end" explained Naruto briefly,

"What about Kushina and your Blacklight comrades? Your father can surely use their help..." suggested one of the clones,

"Yes, I will be sending them as backup in this final fight, we have enough evidence that would prevent my father from executing my comrades instantly and their help in this crucial hour would change the opinion of our countrymen...and they would be at least willing to hear their side of argument. I'll make sure that they are saved..." said Naruto promisingly,

"And you will take on the Akatsuki and Madara alone?" asked another clone,

"Yes"

"You won't survive this battle..."

"Neither would they. It's one way trip to hell..."

"But Boss, we know you're super strong...but Madara is a dangerous opponent"

"I have already taken care of that. Pein is not in the base, neither is Zetsu...that reduces two dangerous members. I'll take on the rest of the members...and as far as Madara is concerned I have a jutsu that will wipe him out from the face of this earth..." said Naruto seriously,

"Along with myself..."

"Who will form the empire?" asked another clone worriedly,

"A man who values his comrades and truly wants peace, a person who has the same conviction as me to see things to the end. He will form the empire..." said Naruto proudly,

"And you'll die in the shadows?"

"I'm a Blackops, I was trained for this day. I am supposed to be the person that protects from the shadows...for the world I'm already dead, it won't make much difference... but still," said Naruto harshly,

The clones were surprised when he slowly took out his spiral mask, and what happened next shocked all of them.

Naruto quickly put his fingers on his left eye and in one quick motion he instantly removed his eye...

"BOSS!"

Showers of blood erupted from his eye socket, and he painfully bit his lip in order to control the pain. Without waiting for another second, he quickly took out a small falcon that was hidden beneath his cloak and performed a set of hand seals.

The clones just watched in shock as he placed his eye inside the small bird, and casted a genjutsu on it with the help of his remaining Mangekyo sharingan.

"If I fail in killing Madara, then I don't want him to get a hold of this eye. It has the ability to cast Kamimusuhi, it is the power of a god...and it would be disastrous if it fell in Madara's hands. With the amount of power in this eye, it can cast that genjutsu for 3 times only. I've programmed this bird to protect Minato Namikaze and Konoha no matter the circumstances..." explained Naruto briefly,

The clones carefully accepted the small falcon, as Naruto put on his Konoha headband and slowly covered his damaged eye socket with it.

"I've secretly placed the captured Kumo Anbu commander and the rest of the Kinkaku force inside Konoha's cells. Make sure you tell Mikasa and my father about this...they are valuable assets in convicting Baku and securing Mikasa and everyone's innocence" said Naruto seriously,

"Will do"

His clones faithfully bowed in front of him and offered him a respectful salute...

"Boss, is there any way you will reconsider this decision?" asked one of the clone,

"We have to understand the situation rationally and accordingly take decisions, otherwise it would put our comrades live's in danger. There is no room for personal feelings here..." said Naruto seriously,

"Hai"

"Boss, do...do you want to leave a personal message for your friends?" asked another clone silently,

"Tell them not to be hasty, they are still young and have a long way to go. Their time will come too...until that time, they must stay alive"

He quickly turned around and slowly started to disappear inside his pocket dimension...

"Tell them to protect those who love the village and those who believe in them, no matter what. And pass on their wills to the next generation...I leave the future to them"

(4th division Headquarters)

Minato quickly entered inside his small tent, he was currently dressed in his Jounin attire along with his traditional white colored coat on his back. He had already taken all of his weapons and was just about to embark on his mission to end the war.

This battle was going to decide the fate of their world, and he was willing to do whatever it took to achieve peace.

"I've been waiting for you..."

He freezed in shock when he heard that voice, it just couldn't be...his worst fears came true when a person dressed in a dark black cloak with red swirls emerged from the shadows.

His face was covered by a bright orange spiral mask, however he could clearly see the person's Mangekyo sharingan glaring at him. And judging from its shape and familiar chakra as well as appearance of this person left no doubt in Minato's mind.

"So I was right...you really are alive..." said Minato in shock,

"It's been a while...Tou-san"

Minato actually took a few steps back, when the person removed his orange spiral mask showing his true face while bowing in front of him.

"Son of the Fourth Hokage and the heir of the Namikaze clan...Naruto Namikaze"

The shocked father could just stare as his once ''dead'' son was kneeling in front of him and offering him respectful salute.

"Naruto...but... how-" said Minato hesitantly,

He watched nervously as Naruto shot him a devious look and his Mangekyo Sharingan shined brightly in the dark tent.

"I have returned, dear father...to change everything!"

Author's Notes: End of chapter.

The only thing I can say, is that only those people who have read each and every word of this story carefully can estimate my true move after this chapter.

Will I end this story or not? Will Naruto's plan work? Would the Akatsuki and the Heavenly Alliance fall to Naruto?

Will he die?

Why did he visit Minato?

I challenge all the readers, try to predict my move...

Reward: The winner gets to make his/her small wish come true for this story, if it is adjustable in the plot. And maybe decide the update date for the next chapter...so state your answers fellas and win your prize! (It's a one time event, it's just one of my personal wishes to arrange such a contest...it's fun for me, and probably even for you)